Just Breathe (The Protectors Book 2)

by Leeanna Morgan

  “It’s not the right time now,” Luke said.

  “We don’t know if the people who broke into my store were looking for the journal.” Kelly held her brother’s gaze. “I need you to support me. Abagail deserves to have her story told.”

  Her mom squeezed her hand. “Why is Abagail so important to you?”

  “She grew up a slave, mom. Some of the things she describes in her journal are horrific. Men and women, the people she loved, were treated worse than cattle. Families were torn apart and sold to new owners. They were whipped and beaten to within an inch of their lives. Abagail escaped on the Underground Railroad, risking her life for a better future. She was courageous and strong. I want to make sure everyone knows about her.”

  Denise sighed. “She isn’t the only courageous person. If you’re determined to tell her story, then do whatever you can to honor her life. Just promise me you’ll be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

  Tanner picked up his mug and left the room.

  Kelly’s heart sank. She felt as though she’d let him down by agreeing to display the translation of Abagail’s journal.

  Luke stared at his mom. “Kelly could have been hurt two days ago. If the Smithsonian wants the journal, let them negotiate with the Jackson family. It’s got nothing to do with us.”

  Kelly wiped tears out of her eyes. “You’re wrong, Luke. It’s got everything to do with us.”

  “Think carefully before you do anything.” Her mom looked at her watch. “I have to go home soon, but I want you to consider staying on the ranch this week. I know it’s a lot further to travel, but one of your brothers could take you into Bozeman each day.”

  “I’m better off here, mom. Luke doesn’t mind staying at Tanner’s and it’s close to work. We’ll drive home on Friday night for Christmas.”

  Denise hugged her daughter. “If you change your mind, let me know. Say goodbye to Tanner for me.”

  “I will. He’s not happy, mom.”

  “I know. He’s worried about you.”

  Kelly followed her mom to her car and waved as she reversed down the drive. She didn’t know where Tanner had gone, but she needed to find him.

  ***

  Tanner stacked an armful of wood on his back porch. The cold wind stung his face and made his journey back to the woodshed slower than it normally would have been.

  “Hey, Tanner. Is everything all right?”

  He looked over his shoulder. Kelly was behind him, wrapped in the same black cape she’d worn yesterday. “We need more wood.”

  She followed him through the ankle-deep snow.

  “Mom just left. She said goodbye.”

  He nodded and picked up more wood. “When were you going to tell me about the Smithsonian?”

  Kelly pushed her hands out of her cape and held them toward him. “I can carry some wood. I didn’t tell you about the Smithsonian because I didn’t think you’d like what they said.”

  “You got that right.” He gave her an armful of wood and grabbed some more.

  “Don’t be angry with me. It would have cost thousands of dollars to restore the painting. I don’t have that much money. This is a good compromise.”

  “Good for them, but not for anyone else.” He went back to his house, trying to figure out how the deal she’d made could be called a compromise.

  “The painting and Abagail’s possessions will be kept in a temperature-controlled environment. They’ll be safe.”

  “Have you ever stopped to think that you’re too caught up in Abagail?” The wood in his arms landed with a thump on the deck. “You can’t right the wrongs of the past. Life doesn’t work like that.”

  “How does it work?”

  He took the wood out of Kelly’s arms. “You’ve got to move on and make the best of what you’ve got.”

  “Is that what you’ve done?”

  “We’re not talking about me.”

  Kelly stuck her hands on her hips. “Well, maybe we should. It’s taken me a long time to understand you.”

  “I don’t need anyone psychoanalyzing me.”

  “Good, because I wouldn’t know where to start. What I do know is that you care deeply about people. But for some reason, you can’t let them close.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “It’s not ridiculous. When you were a child you wanted to be part of a family, but you pushed everyone away. You chose careers where you have to count on other people as if they were family. You joined the military and then Fletcher Security, but you’ve never had a lasting relationship outside of work. What are you so scared about?”

  Tanner stomped back to the shed. “I’m not scared.”

  “I saw you at Emerald Lake when you dressed as Santa. You connected with the children quicker than anyone else would have. And you did that because you were once in their shoes. Why is it so difficult to do the same with adults?”

  “Children aren’t the same as adults. They don’t have the same expectations.”

  Kelly took a step toward him. “I care about Abagail and the legacy she left behind. I never knew her or Celeste Madison, but I feel like we could have been family.”

  “Abagail was born more than 170 years ago. Regardless of how you feel about her, you can’t change what happened. If you give Senator Jackson her journal it won’t make any difference to Abagail, but it could stop someone from hurting you.”

  Kelly glared at him. “If Senator Jackson is responsible for the people breaking into my store, he should be arrested. I thought you, of all people, would have cared about Abagail.”

  “Why would I care about Abagail more than the next person?”

  “Because she didn’t know who her mom and dad were. The closest person she had to family was Mary Jackson. She was scared and lonely. By the time she was sixteen, she was living in Montreal away from everything that was familiar to her. You know what it’s like to be on your own.”

  “That doesn’t make me understand her any better than I did when I read her journal.” Tanner grabbed a handful of wood and took it back to the house. He didn’t know what to say to Kelly. His life was nothing like Abagail’s.

  “I’m sorry.” Kelly stood at the bottom of the stairs. “I shouldn’t have implied that you were scared and lonely. That wasn’t fair.”

  “My last girlfriend told me I couldn’t give her what she needed. What do you think she meant?”

  “I don’t know. Did you ask her?”

  Tanner nodded. “She said if I needed to ask, then I was really in trouble.”

  “That wasn’t very helpful.”

  “That’s what I thought.” He stuck his hands in his jacket pockets. “At least we agree on something.”

  “It’s a start.”

  He sat on an old seat. “There’s enough room for two people if you want to join me?”

  Kelly hesitated.

  He would have done the same thing. “You were right about one thing…I don’t let a lot of people close to me. I’ve probably told you more about my life than anyone else.”

  “Is that a good thing?”

  “I hope so.”

  Kelly walked up the stairs and sat beside him. “Mom wants me to stay on the ranch.”

  “I thought she would.”

  “Are you still happy for me to stay here?”

  He looked down at his hands. “I’d like you to stay, but if you want to go back to your parents’ ranch, that’s okay, too. You need to do what’s best for you.”

  Kelly started to say something, then stopped. “I like you, Tanner. You’re funny and handsome. You’ve got a great sense of humor and you can cook. One day, when you find the right woman, you won’t need to worry about giving her what she needs. It’s there already.”

  He turned toward her. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

  “I can tell you more nice things.”

  The smile on Kelly’s face was real and reassuring.

  He wanted Kelly to know how much she m
eant to him, how much he valued their friendship. He leaned forward and gently kissed her.

  When their lips touched, Kelly’s soft moan unraveled all his good intentions.

  A shudder tore through his body as her mouth moved against his. Her hands gripped his shoulders and pulled him close.

  Kissing her felt so right. It was everything that had been missing from his life, the start of something that could change his life forever.

  The back door flew open and Luke skidded to a stop.

  Kelly jumped out of the seat and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

  It wasn’t the best moment of Tanner’s life, but then he’d never been caught kissing someone’s sister before.

  Luke’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Kelly’s flushed cheeks. “I thought you said nothing was going on between the two of you.”

  Tanner stood in front of Kelly. “Nothing is going on.”

  “Unless my sister stopped breathing and you were giving her CPR, I’d say something is going on.”

  “Kelly doesn’t have to tell you everything that’s happening in her life.” Tanner’s blood pressure started to boil—not because of Kelly, but because of her overprotective brother. He felt someone nudge him from behind.

  “I can look after myself.”

  “We weren’t doing anything wrong.”

  “I know,” she whispered. “We were doing everything right.”

  Luke crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at them. “I have a message for both of you. Erin from the library called. She found more information about Abagail, but she won’t tell me what it is.”

  Kelly frowned. “Is she at the library or at home?”

  “Library.”

  She grabbed hold of Tanner’s hand and pulled him inside. “Let’s go. Erin’s been looking for Abagail’s marriage or death certificate.”

  Tanner didn’t need any extra encouragement to move. “We’ll take my SUV.”

  Luke followed them. “I’ll lock the doors after us.”

  Kelly wrapped a scarf around her neck. “You’re not coming. The less anyone knows about Abagail, the safer everyone will be.”

  “Are you kidding?” Luke opened the front door. “Everyone in Bozeman knows about her journal. If you’re not safe, then the rest of the town is in trouble, too.”

  “Fine. Come to the library, but don’t breathe a word of what you hear to anyone. We need to get our facts straight before we do anything else.”

  Snow fell as they walked as fast as they could to Tanner’s SUV.

  Luke opened the back door. “What are you going to do once you know more about Abagail?”

  Kelly clicked her seatbelt into place. “Make a time line of what happened to her.”

  “And work out why Senator Jackson is so worried about the journal,” Tanner added. He glanced in his rear view mirror.

  Luke rubbed his hands together. “Sounds like we’re the right people for the job.”

  Kelly had the same excited look on her face as her brother did.

  As he reversed down the driveway, Tanner smiled. Kelly was more like Luke than she realized.

  With two Harris siblings staying with him, it should be an interesting week.

  ***

  Tanner felt like the Christmas Grinch. Kelly and Luke had talked about Abagail all the way to the library. In between speculating about who her parents might be, where she had lived and who she might have married, Luke dissected what they knew about Alexander Jackson and his relationship with his brother.

  He tried to curb their enthusiasm. “Don’t get too excited about what Erin has found. Her information might not fill the gaps we have in Abagail’s life.”

  Kelly patted his arm. “I know what you’re doing. You don’t want our expectations to be too high. That way we won’t be disappointed if we don’t get the answers we want.”

  Tanner frowned. “I didn’t realize I was saying that, but it makes sense.”

  “Only if you think we’re going to be disappointed,” Luke said from the back seat. “Think positive, Tanner. Erin knows what she’s doing. If anyone can find the missing information, she can.”

  He ran his hand around the back of his neck. Living with two unstoppable extroverts was giving him a headache.

  Kelly smiled. “Do you regret letting us stay with you?”

  He pulled into the library’s parking lot and turned off the ignition. “I’ll let you know in a couple of hours.” His mouth tilted into a smile at the eager expression on Kelly’s face.

  He didn’t know how he could have thought he was happy before he’d met her. She brightened his day and made him glad to be alive.

  Luke opened his door and a cold blast of air filled the SUV. “You can gaze into each other’s eyes later. We’ve got a mystery to solve and it won’t happen from inside the SUV.”

  Kelly unbuckled her seat belt and leaned across the car. “I’ve just found something else I like about you,” she whispered, “You’ve got beautiful eyes.”

  The quick kiss she left on his lips made Tanner sigh. If this wasn’t love, then he didn’t know what was.

  ***

  Kelly looked around the library. She smiled when she saw Erin heading into her office. “This way.”

  Tanner and Luke followed her across the room. She’d always loved libraries—it didn’t matter whether she was choosing a novel or searching for information when she’d been at school—it was always exciting to lose herself in the shelves and find hidden gems.

  She smiled as Tanner took a book off a shelf and tucked it under his arm.

  He moved closer to her. “I’ve wanted to read this book for a while.”

  The book had a black cover with a picture of a knife sticking out of the ground. “You’re not going to recreate the demise of Anton Jackson, are you?”

  Tanner wrapped his arm around her waist. “Only if your super-duper librarian has found a police report from the 1830s.”

  “We’d need a miracle for that to happen.” She stayed close to Tanner, enjoying the feel of him beside her.

  She looked for her brother. Unlike the rest of their siblings, Luke was as allergic to libraries as some people were to cats. When she was younger, he’d bring her into town and wait in the café while she found some library books to take home.

  The last thing she expected to see was Luke taking an interest in what was on the shelves. She tapped him on the shoulder. “Am I dreaming or are you going to take a book home?”

  “For your information, I read almost as much as you used to. Beth bought me an eReader for my birthday.”

  “Wow. I didn’t know you could still surprise me.”

  Luke puffed out his chest. “I read one of dad’s blockbusters and got hooked.” He pulled out his wallet and showed Kelly his library card.

  She blinked to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. “I’m impressed.”

  “Not as impressed as you’re going to be.” Luke looked up and smiled. “Hi, Erin.”

  “Hi, Luke. We haven’t seen you for a while. Have you been downloading books off the Internet again?”

  “Guilty,” The grin on his face surprised Kelly. “Are you ready for us?”

  “I am. Go into my office and take a seat.” Erin pointed at a nearby room “I’ll make us coffee before we start.”

  Kelly and Tanner followed Luke. They sat beside each other, waiting for Erin to return.

  “I feel like I’m in the principal’s office,” Luke said.

  “Have you done something you shouldn’t?” Kelly asked innocently.

  “Of course not.” Luke picked up a piece of paper that was sitting on the coffee table. He glanced at Kelly and Tanner before reading the page again. “You’re not going to believe this. Erin’s found Abagail’s burial record.”

  Kelly’s mouth dropped open. “What does it say?”

  “She died in Montreal on September 14, 1904. Her date of birth is listed as July 27, 1836. Does that match what you found in the journal?”
>
  “I think so.” Kelly opened her bag and reached for the sheets of paper she’d brought with her. She read the text and smiled. “It’s a perfect match.”

  Erin came in with a tray of coffee. “Pretty amazing, isn’t it?”

  “How did you find her burial record?” Kelly asked. “I looked everywhere and couldn’t find any information about her.”

  “I couldn’t find anything, either. I know a librarian who works at The Grande Bibliothèque in Montreal and asked him to help me. Within three days he’d found Abagail’s burial record in a parish register. The rest fell into place after that.”

  Tanner took the coffee Erin handed him. “The rest?”

  The frown on Erin’s face made Kelly’s heart race. “What did you find?”

  Erin handed Kelly a folder. “Have a look in here.”

  Kelly took out the first page and showed Tanner.

  Luke leaped out of his chair. “The suspense will kill me if I have to wait.” He stood between Tanner and Kelly, reading the paper in his sister’s hand.

  “I felt like that, too,” Erin said. “As soon as Claude called to say he’d found what we wanted I was so excited. I gave one of our customers a fright when I jumped up and down.”

  Luke leaned closer to the page. “It’s a record of Abagail’s marriage.” His gaze shot to Kelly and Tanner. “Did either of you notice the name of Abagail’s father?”

  It was the first thing Kelly had seen. “I can’t believe Alexander let Abagail write his name in the parish register.”

  Tanner shrugged. “If he wasn’t there, he couldn’t do anything about it.”

  “Maybe that’s why Senator Jackson wants the journal.” Kelly took another sheet of paper out of the folder. “This is a copy of the Jackson family tree that we found in a book.” She pointed to Anton Jackson’s name. “Alexander’s son was born in 1834 and died in 1835. Abagail was born in 1836. Do you think Alexander’s wife, Mary, took Abagail into her home to somehow make up for the death of her son?”

  Erin nodded. “Anything is possible. That could also explain why Mary helped Abagail escape on the Underground Railroad. If Alexander was threatening to sell her, Mary would have been heartbroken.”